State Papers, Foreign

Overseas Records Information 2

1. Introduction

The state papers foreign are, in general, the papers accumulated in the offices of the secretaries of state produced or received by them as a result of their responsibilities in the conduct of British diplomacy abroad. They include correspondence with representatives (English diplomats abroad and foreign diplomats in England), original and draft treaties, letters between heads of state, intercepted despatches and other intelligence, working papers of the secretaries and material relating to military, naval and colonial policy.

The main series of papers has been re-arranged by reign until 1577. After that, it is still arranged by country. In general the state papers foreign series end in 1782 upon the creation of the Foreign Office, although there are exceptions. The individual series lists provide more exact date ranges for individual record series. Besides the chronological and country state papers foreign series there are papers which are classified by record type, for example intercepted despatches, treaties or entry books. This means that readers may need to search through several record series for information on a particular event, place, individual or period.

2. From 1509 to 1547

Papers relating to foreign affairs are included in the Letters and Papers of Henry VIII (SP 1 and SP 2 ) with some items in a variety of other record series. References to these papers is by series list and especially by calendars: Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII, ed. J S Brewer, J Gardner and R H Brodie, 21 volumes plus two volumes of addenda, (London, 1862-1932). These, and keys to the references contained in them, can be consulted in the Map and Large Document Room at the National Archives. Calendars of documents in SP 1 and SP 2 can be searched using State Papers Online and British History Online, available on the public computers at The National Archives.

3. From 1547 to 1577

The state papers foreign are arranged by reigns of individual monarchs, as follows:

SP 68 State papers foreign, general series, Edward VI, 1547 to 1553
SP 69 State papers foreign, general series, Mary, 1553 to 1558
SP 70 State papers foreign, general series, Elizabeth I, 1558 to 1577

Means of reference include series lists and especially the following calendars, seen in the Map and Large Document Room:

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Edward VI, 1547-1553, ed. W B Turnbull (London, 1861)
Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Mary, 1553-1558, ed. W B Turnbull, (London, 1861)
Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, 1558-1589, ed. J Stevenson, A J Crosby, A J Butler, S C Lomas, A B Hinds, R B Wernham, 23 volumes (London, 1863-1950).

4. From 1577 to 1782

The state papers foreign are arranged in individual series by area or country:

Means of reference include series lists and The National Archives semi-calendared lists in the Open Reading Room. The later volumes of the Calendar of State Papers Foreign Elizabeth (volume XI to XXIII, include post 1577 state papers foreign documents from a number of series. Calendaring of documents continues after 1589 in the List and Analysis of State Papers Foreign, ed. R B Wernham, (London, 1964, continuing, 7 volumes to date, covering 1589 to 1596).

5. Other State Papers Foreign Series

Some state papers foreign series are arranged by type or format of record and there are several miscellaneous series which often contain material which does not appear in the main state papers foreign series by reign and by country. These are:

6. Out-Letters from the Secretaries of State

Many of these series are useful sources for correspondence which was sent out from the secretaries of state, particularly the entry books in SP 104 , the state papers foreign various, SP 109 and the state papers foreign supplementary, SP 110 , all of which contain books of official outletters covering various periods and countries which contain correspondence from the secretary of state to the representatives abroad. They can also include letters between representatives abroad to each other and are a useful supplement to the main state paper series. Other out-letter books can also be found amongst the state papers foreign series arranged by country.

For details of the contents to these series consult the introductory notes and series lists in The National Archives' online Catalogue.

7. Other Material Relating to Foreign Relations Amongst the State Papers

As the secretaries of state had responsibility for both foreign and domestic affairs, there are references to overseas policy in the state papers domestic series. The Williamson collection (SP 9 ), covering 1463-1828, includes some records concerning the conduct and history of diplomacy. There are several series of foreign gazettes and pamphlets (SP 113 to SP 128 inclusive). Military and naval policy documents can be found in the state papers foreign military expeditions, 1695-1763 (SP 87 ), the state papers military, 1640-1782 (SP 41 ) and state papers naval, 1689-1782 (SP 42 ) as well as in the state papers domestic series.

Separate state papers series exist for Scotland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland. There are also significant overlaps in the date ranges and content with the earliest records of the Foreign Office. For details of these overlaps, facsimiles of documents and finding aids, plus information on associated papers of secretaries of state and diplomats and transcripts of foreign documents held abroad which are available in the National Archives, 'Never Complain, Never Explain': Records of the Foreign Office and the State Paper Office, c. 1500 to 1960, (PRO Publications, 1994).

(ri2056) Last updated: 15 May 2009 | © Crown Copyright 2002